Matt Koalska opened training camp with Ryan Caldwell and the Bridgeport SoundTigers in Shelton, Conn. on Monday.  Players were divided into Black and White teams playing on separate ice sheets.  The first day Caldwell was noticed for his speed and offensive ability.  Koalska scored a goal for the White team in the second game of scrimmages the second day of camp.  Players began afternoon weight training the second day in addition to intrasquad scrimmages and will play their first preseason game on Friday.
 
The Rochester Americans opened camp and Darcy Regier must have been smiling in the stands.  Thomas Vanek made an impact right away, scoring two assists for the Red team in the intrasquad scrimmage.  The first assist came when Derek Roy shot in Vanek's rebound.  The second was off a soft pass from the Austrian forward to Jason Pominville.  The scrimmage ended in a 5-on-5 shootout, preparation for the new rules instituted in the AHL this season where games ending in tie after a 5-minute 4-on-4 overtime period will go to a shootout.  Ryan Miller stopped Vanek on his shootout attempt.  Day two is also at the ESL Sports Centre and begins with a morning skate followed by another scrimmage.  The first exhibition game for Vanek and the Amerks is Saturday.
 
John Pohl welcomed Troy Riddle to his first training camp with the Worcester IceCats in St. Louis Mills on Tuesday.  Pohl had a nice first day assisting on Peter Sejna's goal and adding a tally of his own on the way to his Blue team's 4-1 win.
 
Zach Parise spent the end of last season practicing with the New Jersey Devils but he never played a game.  For the first time he got the chance to feel what a real professional game may be like when the Albany River Rats opened camp in the same South Mountain Arena where he practiced last spring.  He scored a goal and created opportunities in the first intrasquad scrimmage starting on a line with second-year forwards Aleksander Suglobov and Tuomas Pihlman.

The Desert Gophers, Phoenix Coyotes prospects Erik Westrum, Jeff Taffe and Keith Ballard don't open training camp until Thursday where they will play in the new state-of-the-art Bank of America Center in Boise, Idaho.

Joey Martin, on a tryout with the Norfolk Admirals will begin camp Thursday with an optional skate at 1pm.  Full workouts begin Friday followed by intrasquad scrimmages at the Scope.

Minnesota Wild defenseman Nick Schultz has signed to play in Kassel Germany with the Huskies of the DEL.  Fellow Wild blueliner Andrei Zyuzin is playing in Russia with Salavat Yulaev Ufa.

Matt Cullen will play for SC Cortina in Italy during the NHL lockout this season.  Cullen was not qualified by the Florida Panthers this summer and signed as a free agent with the Carolina Hurricanes.  Cullen has an "out" clause with the Italian League in the event the NHL resumes play.

Bob Gainey's son Steve Gainey is playing with the French League team IC Epinal.  He played last season with the AHL Philadelphia Phantoms.

UND's Tyler Palmiscno is playing for the Heerenveen Flyers in the Netherlands this season.

Mike Pudlick has signed to play in Germany for the Augsberger Panthers in the DEL this season.  He played last year for the Portland Pirates.

Jay Woodcroft, brother to Minnesota Wild video coach Todd Woodcroft, signed to play with the Stuttgart Wizards in the Eishockey Oberliga Südwest.

Christoph Brandner along with Stephane Veillieux, Dan Cavanaugh, Mark Cullen, Jordan Krestanovich, Kirby Law, Jason Beckett, Ray Giroux and Kyle Wanvig were all signed by the Houston Aeros.  Due to the lockout they are not under contract with the Minnesota Wild and therefore needed AHL contracts.  All would have been with the Wild in training camp if not for the work stoppage.

The Manchester Monarchs of the AHL signed Beau Geisler to a one-year deal.

Jeff Panzer, who played with John Pohl and the Worcester IceCats last year has signed with the Syracuse Crunch.  He will play with Mark Hartigan there this season.

Contrary to earlier reports of his retirement, former North Star Steve Maltais re-signed with the Chicago Wolves.  Maltais is one of the AHL's elder statesmen, but moved to the league only following the failure of the IHL and subsequent merger.  He has become an icon of minor league hockey in Chicago.

Quick Quotes:

 "At the end of the day, when this is settled, our fans will come back, because it is a great game. Whatever the savings are, I don't see a dollar-for-dollar reduction.  It's a great game, and I think at the end of the day the price is fair. It's really about having the ability to generate more revenues for [the owners] and less for the players.  It's not about generating more money for themselves [the owners] to give back to the fans. I don't see that happening. Not in a major way. I do see it happening in a token way. We'll see some kind of rollback, public-relations wise to make it more attractive."

- Brian Lawton on the lockout and the owners' argument that lower salaries will reduce ticket prices. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

 "I'm excited about waiting to see him and watching him.  He's got a lot of tools, so I'm sure he's going to be a player that a lot of people are really going to want to watch."

- Albany River Rats Head Coach Robbie Ftorek on Zach Parise. (Times Union)

 "If you look at it, this is probably a great situation for me to get adjusted to the pro hockey and the kind of lifestyle.  When the time comes around, hopefully I'll be ready to go. Right now, I'm looking forward to playing in Albany."

- Zach Parise on beginning his professional career. (Times Union)


Quick Take I:

 The AHL will be the next best thing to the NHL for a great number of people this season.  What AHL fans will see is quite similar to what IHL fans took advantage of during the 1994 lockout.  NHL players who would otherwise be playing in the superior league have opted to sign in the developmental league.  Also playing are some minor league veteran stars like Minnesota's own Ken Gernander of the Hartford Wolf Pack, Travis Richards of the Grand Rapids Griffins or the Chicago Wolves' Steve Maltais who once played with the North Stars, all of whom are leaders of their teams the same way veterans like Steve Yzerman, Scott Stevens or Mark Messier are and just as good at their level.  Add to the mix one of the most outstanding crops of North American rookie players to join the league in years, including what is expected to be the continuation of a great rivalry between Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek.  

It is enough to make those without an AHL team near their market envious.  But never fear, those with digital cable or a dish may be closer than they think, most AHL teams will have games added to the Fox Sports Net group of stations to fill in empty NHL dates. 

Anyone who enjoys good professional hockey should look into it not just because its is the only game in town or because they can get a sneak peak at some possible new rule changes including overtime shootouts, restriction of goalie movement, touch-up offsides and no-touch icing.  Anyone who enjoys good hockey will have the opportunity to see good fast hockey played with heart not for money, because after all these boys won't be playing for a chance to get into NHL this year, they are playing to win. 

Quick Take II:

 Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer cites Trent Klatt's 1998 arbitration ruling awarding him a $900,000 contract as a fourth line player amongst the top reasons salaries became out of whack in the NHL.  Panaccio claims that with Klatt's award the precedent was set that fourth line players were worth almost $1 million.

This is another argument supporting Quick Facts' stance that arbitration is the real reason for the NHL financial woes.  Granted the Vancouver Canucks could have walked away from that award, but it indicates the inherent problem with arbitration as it stands now and remains the primary evil of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, not the lack of a salary cap.

Troy Riddle scored two goals in 38 seconds in the beginning of the third period to clinch the Traverse City Prospects Tournament Championship for the St. Louis Blues.  Riddle and other Blues prospects including John Pohl and Mike Stuart will open training camp for the Worcester IceCats in the Blues' new St. Louis Mills practice facility on Monday.  Riddle will wear jersey number 48 for the IceCats.
 
Matt Koalska and Ryan Caldwell will be roomates in Bridgeport this season, their first as pros after signing with the New York Islanders.  They will join former Gopher Ryan Kraft with the Bridgeport SoundTigers.  Training camp for the Tigers opens Monday and they will play their first exhibition game Friday, October 1st against Matt DeMarchi and the Albany River Rats also their regular season opening opponent.
 
Keith Ballard, Jeff Taffe and newlywed Erik Westrum will begin training camp with the Utah Grizzlies on September 30th in Boise, Idaho.  The camp, held in conjunction with ECHL affiliate Idaho Steelheads, the 2004 Kelly Cup Champions, will include preseason games against the Edmonton Road Runners. The promotional tagline for the Grizzlies this season is "See Red."
 
Joey Martin is among 10 defenseman on the roster for the Norfolk Admirals.  Martin, on a tryout with the Admirals, is under contract with the ECHL Greenville Grrrowl but has an outlet clause if he earns a spot with the Admirals.  Martin leaves for Norfolk this weekend with training camp set to open Thursday.  An intersquad scrimmage, dubbed the Red & White game, on October 6th.  The game is free and open to the public at the Scope arena.

Jake Taylor's professional hockey experience begins September 26th when the Hartford Wolf Pack opens training camp at the Madison Square Garden training center in Greenburg, NY.  The annual Blue & White intersquad scrimmage will be held October 5th at Veterans Memorial Park. The next day at Champions Skating Center in Cromwell the Pack take on the Worcester IceCats in exhibition play, which will pit Jake Taylor against former teammate Troy Riddle.  On October 12th Taylor, Captain Ken Gernander, Bryce Lampman and the rest of the team will take part in the fifth annual Hartford Wolf Pack's Golf For Kids tournament at the TPC River Highlands Course in Cromwell.  The shamble-format tourney benefits The Children's Home in Cromwell. 

Grant Potulny will have the opportunity to play with Dominik Hasek despite the NHL lockout.  Hasek will spend two weeks with the Senators' AHL affiliate in Binghamton.  There remains a possibility that Hasek could sign a free agent contract with the Baby Sens.  Young Sens forward Jason Spezza has already returned as a free agent to Binghamton.  Several other players have followed suit meaning ice time and jobs may be harder to come by for players like Potulny.  The possibility remains that several players who would have otherwise been AHL players will be reassigned to the ECHL instead, to make room for the locked out NHL players. Potulny is joined by Andy Hedlund, Josh Langfeld and Jesse Fibiger in Binghamton this season.  Training camp for the B-Sens opened Sunday with physicals and medicals.  The club opens its five-game pre-season schedule on Saturday, Oct. 2, when they play host to the Syracuse Crunch at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.

Well it turns out that Thomas Vanek is going to college this season after all.  Vanek and the Rochester Americans open training camp on the campus of Monroe Community College at the ESL Sports Centre September 28th.  All practices and scrimmages are free and open to the public.  The first preseason game for the Amerks is October 2nd against the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Lest people think Thomas Vanek is greedy for accepting the NHL offer from the Buffalo Sabres, Vanek presented a fellow player with a gift of a former teammate's van, following in the footsteps of Paul Martin, who last year donated his car, known as the "White Lightning", to teammate Jarrid Reinholz.

Incoming Gopher freshman Alex Gologoski, brought in a year early to replace Keith Ballard who opted to accept an NHL deal rather than play his senior season, was named to the preseason All-Rookie team by Inside College Hockey.


Brian Lawton of Edina's Octagon Sports is exploring the possibility of putting together a team to play exhibition games in countries including Switzerland, Germany, Finland and Sweden.  "Right now, we're just looking into whether or not we can do it. Insurance is a big, big issue, and there are other things, too."  According to news reports Mike Modano, whom Lawton has approached with the exhibition idea, was unable to get an insurance policy to play in Italy this season. (Fort Worth Star Telegram)

Nike has begun airing a striking television commercial in Canada that would certainly work just as effectively in Minnesota as it has for our neighbors to the north.  A 30-second spot shows a stark image of an idle, soundless hockey rink, its 19,000 seats vacant. The "action" is that of the ice, melting away, right down to the concrete floor. The simple message is "bring it back." "It's a statement ad that will be shown only in Canada, where our major hockey market is located," says Derek Kent, the head of corporate communications for Nike Canada."The basic premise is that Nike is lamenting the void the lockout is creating. We want to make a statement about how much we love and appreciate hockey played at its highest level and what a chor d it strikes with Canadians." Nike has a big stake in the hockey market through their acquisition of the Bauer and Cooper brands. Nike ran a similar ad during the 1994 baseball strike showing an empty ballpark. (Globe & Mail)

The NHLPA has filed a grievance with the U.S. National Labour Relations Board against the NHL because of the league's failure to provide a list  of players that have been locked out by owners.  Sources say the league could face sanctions or fines if the U.S. agency rules the NHL is not negotiating fairly. The NLRB could also force the NHL to provide the list. (Ottawa Sun).

Quick Quotes:

 "Well, I think that depends on what's included in that cap.. Are they taking away our guaranteed contracts, like they're talking about? That's something I don't think any player's willing to do. There are different ways to do a cap. If you're going to cap the top teams at $30 million and you've got the Pittsburghs, or whatever, spending $10 million to $12 million, how does that improve the league?

- New Jersey Devils' forward Jamie Langenbrunner responding to whether or not he would be willing to accept a salary cap. Langenbrunner said he would be in favor of a minimum payroll, too. (Newark Star-Ledger).


Quick Take:

 NHL owners like to point to the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement, a socialist-based revenue sharing system that the professional hockey league as a model for what they would like to achieve in their negotiations with the NHLPA for a new agreement.  The NHL may want to start back-peddling on that stance rather quickly.  They obviously haven't read recent figures for the NFL or looked at the impending labor unrest that is on the horizon in Football. 

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story about the crumbling of the once solid NFL system and the solidarity of the owners that produced one of the most owner-favored CBA's in professional sports, and the Ottawa Citizen recently spoke to a highly regarded economist.  Both stories help sustain Quick Facts' argument that the NHL's demanded salary cap will do little to remedy the financial ills of the league.

The Journal points out that the NFL's revenue has increased more than fivefold in the past 15 years. Traffic on the NFL's Internet site surpasses that of other leagues. Its broadcasts outpace prime-time averages. And its exceptionally devoted fans buy more than 90% of available tickets. The price of an NFL expansion franchise rose from $195 million in 1993 to $700 million in 1999 and, WSJ estimates, that fee could crack $1 billion the next time around.  By all accounts the league is extrodinarily successful.

But, according to the Journal, Lower-revenue teams spend as much as 70% of their income on players -- about twice the share of teams at the top, executives say. That means the NFL's downtrodden have less to spend on everything else, from front-office staff to stadium infrastructure to fan amenities.

This season, the NFL's 32 franchises will share equally more than 80% of about $5.5 billion in total revenue, says the Journal.  This is the real reason the NFL's current agreement is successful, a claim substantiated by University of Regina sports economist Shaun Augustin . 

During an interview with the Ottawa Citizen Augustin said that it's a "myth" that salary caps either yield higher profits (because owners are still prone to violating limits) or that they create parity between have and have-not teams. "In the NFL, it's revenue-sharing, rather than salary caps, that is creating an even playing field and what drives parity. A salary cap can put a drag on salaries, but what it doesn't do is stop the big-market teams from not spending more than the small-market teams."  For most NHL owners, the issue isn't parity, Augustin said. "They want to pay out less money and they want to have a system where they can't shoot themselves in the foot, and they think a salary cap will do that. And it may stop them from spending more money, but if they're claiming that it's in the interest of competitive balance, that's a lie.  It's in the interests of profitability."

Ironically the successful revenue sharing model in the NFL is what some owners are trying to work around.  Teams are clamoring to find new streams of revenue and keep that revenue to themselves in order to compensate for the increasing salaries.

It began when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones broke ranks and signed a contract with Nike. The league took him to court and the case was eventually settled but more and more the league is allowing individual teams to control their own revenue streams. The Journal story points to the instance of "official" beer and soft drinks of the NFL, Coors & Pepsi, but teams have been allowed to sign their own contracts for their stadiums with competitors. Teams have begun using their brands to reach more deals in areas not exclusively controlled by the league and crafting leases granting them explicit control of stadium income like parking, concessions and signage.

"The values have changed," says Art Modell, former owner of the Colts and Browns. "We were comrades in arms. We were partners. That doesn't happen now. Everything is revenues and profits."

The more revenue the league generates, the more money is set aside for players, and the higher the per-team salary cap climbs. (It's $80.6 million this season, up from $34.6 million in 1994.) Smaller-market teams with static stadium situations bear the brunt of such growth, because their revenue can't keep pace with the salary-cap increases.  The high-revenue teams argue that splitting all revenue, national and local, 32 ways would eliminate incentives for teams to market themselves.

According to union data, the Redskins agreed to shell out more than $77 million in signing bonuses during this offseason, compared with $22 million for the Cardinals. Michael Duberstein, research director at the players union, says teams have spent $2 billion above the cap in the past decade by amortizing costs.

Mr. Tagliabue earlier this year appointed a 12-member committee of owners and league officials to study whether big-money teams should share more of their local haul. But he says the bigger concern for all teams -- and the underlying reasons for their gripes -- is the league's labor agreement. Talks began in April on extending the current contract beyond 2007. 

Players and owners negotiated the deal in 1993, ending years of discord that included a strike and two lawsuits. The contract permitted the NFL's first true free agency, guaranteed players a percentage of league revenue and established the salary-cap system. Salaries have more than tripled, from a $484,000 average in 1992 to $1.3 million last season. The owners and players have been satisfied enough to extend the deal twice.  Is this starting to sound familiar?

The NHL has seen similar exponential growth in salaries and twice the owners have extended the CBA. They have also been looking at returning an NFL franchise to Los Angeles through expansion, creating a huge influx of cash for the league not only through the franchise fee but through the increased revenue, especially in such a large television market.

The NHL is claiming that the only saviour for the league is a salary cap system. That such a cap will be the only way to reign in salary increases and ensure financial stability for the teams. That is a fallacious argument proven false by the NFL.

The NHL is quick to point to the NFL as the perfect model of a salary cap system. The facts and figures presented by the Wall Street Journal and Augustin prove that position held by Gary Bettman and the owners is on thin ice at best. 

(Majority of quotes and information from the Wall Street Journal and the Ottawa Citizens)

Paul Martin was drafted by Detroit of the Original Six Hockey League, a group put together by NHL agents and players to put on exhibition games while the owners lockout NHL players after the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires at midnight.  Martin's plans so far are to stay in the Twin Cities and skate with other former Gophers like Ben Clymer, Casey Hankinson and Jordan Leopold at Mariucci Arena trying to stay in shape during the work stoppage.
 
As Quick Facts projected, Troy Riddle was signed to a minor league deal with the St Louis Blues'  affiliate in Worcester, Mass.  Riddle participated in the Blues' prospect tournament in Traverse City, Mich and will play along side John Pohl and Mark Stuart with the IceCats this season.
 
Ryan Caldwell was signed by the New York Islanders.  Caldwell was a member of the NCAA Champion Denver Pioneers.  He will join Matt Koalska in Bridgeport.
 
Junior Lessard was reassigned to the Houston Aeros by the Dallas Stars.  The Stars do not currently operate their own AHL farm club after dizzolving their agreement with the Utah Grizzlies.  They have split their prospects between the Wild's Houston Aeros and the Hamilton Bulldogs whose primary affiliation is with the Montreal Canadiens.

Todd Rohloff was re-signed by the Rochester Americans where he will play with Thomas Vanek and Rick Mrozik.  Rohloff skated in 59 NHL games with Washington and Columbus in last season, and has eight goals and 32 assists in 211 career AHL games with the Portland Pirates and Syracuse Crunch.

The Nashville Predators signed collegiate defenseman Ryan Suter after his freshman season with the University of Wisconsin.  The Preds released rights to Minnesota collegians Matt Hendricks and Matt Koalska earlier this summer.

Grant Potulny and Brandon Bochenski are took part in the Senators rookie camp.  The group began practices at Corel Centre last Thursday and then moved onto Pierrefonds, a suburb of Montreal, for the rookie tournament against fellow rookies from Montreal, Toronto and Florida.  Potulny and the rest of the rookie Sens are 0-2 in tournament play thus far, falling  5-2 against Montreal on Saturday and 6-2 against Toronto on Sunday. Toronto leads the tournament at 2-0 while Florida and Montreal are 1-1.

Troy Riddle, Justin Maiser and the rest of the St. Louis Blues prospects opened their tournament in Traverse City with a 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay but came back to beat the Red Wings 3-1.  Maiser roofed a 10-footer at 2:37 of the first period against the Wings, while on the power play.  The Blues faced the Red Wings in hope of moving on to face the Lightning in the Championship game Tuesday.

On the first day of games in the 4-team rookie tournament in Anaheim the San Jose Sharks defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1. Tim Conboy scored a goal and two assists in the opening game.  The LA Kings topped the Mighty Ducks in overtime 3-2 . On the second day of competition the Kings embarassed Keith Ballard and the Coyotes 11-2 and the Ducks cruised by the Sharks 6-2.  On day three of the tournament Aaron Gill was one of three San Jose Sharks prospects to score in the first period of a tournament game against the LA Kings but the Kings snapped back to tie the game in the third, which is where the game ended after an overtime period, tied 3-3. The Coyotes bounced back from their big loss a day prior to top the Ducks 4-2 with Ballard getting an assist on the power play. The Ducks and Kings met for the Championship and the Coyotes and Sharks met in the consolation game Monday. (Ducks & Coyotes)

Ballard's blueline combination has had him paired with Joe Callahan.  Ballard was tapped to keep an online diary during the tournament. It is available here.

San Jose Sharks Ron Wilson made it back from World Cup of Hockey, where he coached Team USA,  to watch the conclusion of the prospects tournament in Anaheim.

In preparation of the NHL lockout the Coyotes reassigned Jeff Taffe to the Utah Grizzlies of the AHL.  Taffe was held out of games toward the end of last season to maintain his eligibility to be reassigned without having to first clear waivers.  Keith Ballard was also officially reassigned to Utah.

NHL superpest Mike Ricci, now with the Coyotes, will wear number 40 jersey number to honor former Arizona Cardinals player Pat Tillman who was killed while on duty in Afganistan. (Coyotes)

A poll on the Phoenix Coyotes website asks visitors to vote for which rookie they think will score the most at the rookie tournament.  43.7% of the respondants said Keith Ballard.  Randall Gelech came in second, Mike Stutzel third and Tyler Redenbach fourth.  Ballard didn't register a goal in the tournament.

In preparation for the impending lockout NHL defenseman Joe Bouchard, who played for the New York Rangers last season, has signed up sponsors and rented a bus and each weekend will take a group of Quebec-raised NHLers into a different community in La Belle Province to put on an exhibition game. (Globe & Mail)

Quick Take:

Former Minnesota native Brian Burke, now an analyst for Hockey Night in Canada recently presented his own proposal to resolve the NHL labor problems.  His working agreement includes a 2-year phase-in of the agreement, a 12-year commitment to the agreement, a luxury tax, revenue sharing and big changes in arbitration which would allow the teams to file as well as the players and restrict the number of times arbitration could be sought by each side. The agreement meets both the needs of the NHL and the players. 

Burke may not be known as the most tactful of people, but no one ever accused him of being a bad businessman.  He took the Vancouver Canucks into the black and made them one of the NHL's best teams.  His agressive proposition should be a starting point for negotiations of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

Unfortunately, despite invitations by the players to discuss such a system the league remains recalcitrant in their position that they will only accept a hard salary cap.  What the league fails to acknowledge in their position it is likely that some teams that are struggling to bring in fans now, like the Carolina Hurricanes or Anaheim Mighty Ducks for instance, may not have any revenue after alienating what is left of their fan base because of this lockout. Following the NHL's revenue to salary ratio, that would mean those teams wouldn't even be able to field an ECHL club.  How that is good for the league I fail to see.

It is time for the rational owners of the league, ones who have not foolishly contributed to  salary escalation through absurd salaries and bonuses offered mediocre players, to break ranks and bring the remainder of the owners back to the bargaining table. It is their responsibility to set forth a proposal that meets their condition of curbing salaries while maintaining the players' position that players value should be determined by teams.  What is necessary is a compromise of both sides,  the owners conceeding the hard cap and players conceeding arbitration and entry level salaries.  The future of the league and the sport depends it.


Quick Speculation:

Earlier this summer Ray Shero, the Assistant GM for the Nashville Predators, told Quick Facts that the Preds had planned to rely on junior players this season and that they would refrain from signing most of their college and European players, mostly as a cost-saving measure as a result of the NHL work stoppage. Just before the scheduled start of NHL training camp the Preds signed top prospect Ryan Suter out of the University of Wisconsin, a move contrary to earlier statements. The move was likely a result of lack of depth with their AHL club, thanks to several players signing in Europe, and the pressure the organization faced after several top college prospects signed early this summer, including Keith Ballard, Thomas Vanek, Brandon Bochenski and Jake Taylor, all foregoing their last years of NCAA eligibility.  Most players were pushed toward the early departure from college with the expiration of the NHL CBA, knowing that a new Agreement would result in much lower entry-level contracts.

Quick Quotes::

 "We were able to move the puck very well and that just comes from more practice time together and like I said earlier, it took a couple of games for guys to know each other's tendencies and our hard work paid off."

- Keith Ballard on beating the Mighty Ducks 4-2 in rookie tournament play a day after being beaten 11-2 by the Kings. (phoenixcoyotes.com)

 "I have to touch on the World Cup of Hockey because Team USA was defeated Friday night against Finland.  I am a native of Minnesota and I was able to attend a game last weekend in St. Paul.  I visited with a good friend of mine, Paul Martin, who was representing the red, white and blue.  It's exciting to see guys you have played with representing their country on hockey's biggest international stage.  I didn't get a chance to watch Friday's game because our contest was being played at the same time, but it was disappointing to hear they lost, but they gave it their best shot."

- Keith Ballard in his online journal during prospects camp in California  (PhoenixCoyotes.com)


 "We're treating this as we do every year. There's a group of young players in the development stages of their careers, and this is a great opportunity to assess them against their own peers.  We don't feel the potential of a work stoppage changes things because we know every one of these players will be playing this year. It's important that we put them in the right place to develop."

- Coyotes GM Michael Barnett on the status of rookie players, like Keith Ballard, in the event of a lockout. (ESPN.com)